Hedera has joined the Linux Foundation's Decentralized Trust Initiative! 🚀

- Hedera has donated its entire source code, including the hashgraph consensus algorithm, to the "Hiero" project.
- This is a step towards greater decentralization and openness for developers.
- This is expected to accelerate innovation and technology adoption.

But should we rejoice? Time will tell how this will affect the market and users.

🚨 Attention, crypto enthusiasts! 🚨

- BaseBros Fi, a DeFi protocol on the Base blockchain, has disappeared from the internet after stealing users' investments via an unaudited smart contract.
- On September 13, BaseBros deleted its website and social media accounts.
- Chain Audits found that the project had performed a rug pull via an unaudited Vault contract.
- $130,000 stolen via Tornado Cash. Seamless was not affected.

Be careful!

Delta Prime has been hacked for nearly $6 million in the latest cybersecurity incident in the crypto world.

- The DeFi platform initially lost $4.5 million, according to Cyvers.
- "Suspicious address has already swapped USDC for ETH! Total losses are around $4.5M, but the address continues to drain pools!" Cyvers wrote.
- The second wave of attacks has increased the losses to nearly $6 million, the Fuzzland co-founder noted.

📉 The story continues.

Circle Blocks Addresses Linked to Lazarus Group

- Circle has blocked addresses linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group worth over $1.5 million in USDC.
- This comes four months after similar moves by Tether, Paxos, and Techteryx.
- ZachXBT criticized Circle for its slowness in a post on X.
- Almost $5 million in stablecoins have been blocked, a small fraction of the total $172.4 billion market.

US Senators Call on Crypto ATMs to Protect Seniors from Fraud

- A group of Democratic senators led by Dick Durbin has called on the largest crypto ATM operators to take immediate action against fraud.
- According to the FTC, losses from fraud via BTMs reached $65 million in the first half of the year.
- Older Americans are three times more likely to fall victim to such schemes.
- Senators demand a report by October 4. 📉

Ether (ETH) has fallen 6% in the last 24 hours, reaching $2,260. 📉

- The crypto market as a whole has fallen 4.5%, with the market cap falling to $2.12 trillion.
- The "FUD" wave on X is increasing pressure on ETH.
- Analysts and developers are actively discussing the price drop.
- ETH/BTC has reached its lowest level since April 2021 (0.038).
- The US Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates this week, which may affect the market.

Stay tuned!

Circle and Sony Block Solutions Labs partner to expand USDC usage on the Soneium blockchain.

- Circle announced a partnership with Sony to integrate the Bridged USDC Standard.
- Soneium, a second-layer blockchain based on Ethereum, launched in August 2024.
- The goal: to make USDC the primary value exchange token on Soneium.
- USDC is up 47% YTD, but still below its 36% peak.

📉

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said prediction markets could be subject to "spectacular manipulation." An example was the attempted manipulation of Polymarket involving Kamala Harris. Kalshi, an election betting platform, was also in the CFTC's crosshairs. A court temporarily suspended its operations, but Kalshi continues to fight. 🧐

Source: Courtlistener

📉 Is the crypto market about to change?

- Analysts predict a possible rise in cryptocurrencies and commodities, considering them undervalued.
- Michael van de Poppe expects a 10-year bull market for these assets.
- Raoul Pal predicts an increase in global liquidity, which could push Bitcoin higher.
- Bitcoin may reach $92,000, but September volatility remains a threat.

Stay tuned!

Is Bitcoin about to rally? 🚀

- After months of decline, Bitcoin may be preparing for a three-month rally.
- Analysts predict a possible rise above $92,000.
- Historical data shows that after the September slump, Bitcoin often rises for three months in a row.
- The average increase in October is 22.9%, in November — 46.8%.

Will this be the last chance to buy Bitcoin at a low price? Time will tell.

Circle Confident in Stablecoin Future, But Rules Need to Be Global 🌍

- USDC issuer Circle believes stablecoins will become the internet's default money.
- Circle chief strategist Dante Disparte stresses the importance of global regulatory harmonization.
- Circle moves to New York, awaits federal regulations for stablecoins in the US.
- Competition is heating up: PayPal and Ripple launch their own stablecoins.

Ethereum developers are discussing splitting the long-awaited Pectra upgrade into two parts, with the first phase possibly launching in early 2025.

- Goal: Release Pectra 1 as soon as possible, possibly as early as February.
- Splitting could reduce risks, but delay the timeline.
- The upgrade includes changes to the execution and consensus layers of the network.

A decision will be made at the next developer call on September 19th. 🚀

Residents of Hadsel, Norway, have succeeded in shutting down their local Bitcoin mining operation, but are now facing rising energy bills. 🏠

- Politicians are criticizing Bitcoin, but people are suffering, says venture capitalist Daniel Batten.
- The noise from the mining facility was a nuisance to residents, but its closure has cost the local power company 20% of its income.
- Now electricity bills are rising to offset the losses.

The mayor of Hadsel is looking for new projects to offset the losses.

China Tightens Cryptocurrency Control 🚨

- Chinese lawmakers are considering amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Law to increase monitoring of cryptocurrency risks.
- The Supreme People's Court has expanded the definition of money laundering channels to include virtual assets.
- Financial institutions will be required to assess the risks associated with new technologies.
- Authorities continue to aggressively crack down on cryptocurrencies, which has already led to exchange closures and a drop in BTC prices.

Bitfarms has entered into an agreement with Stronghold Digital Mining to add 2.2 EH/s of capacity by October 2024, two months ahead of schedule.

- 10,000 Bitmain T21 miners will be installed at the Panther Creek facility in Pennsylvania.
- Bitfarms CEO Ben Gagnon noted that this will help diversify the business.

However, Riot Platforms, Bitfarms' largest shareholder, has criticized the deal, calling it "dilutive" for shareholders and demanding changes to the board of directors. 🚨

⚡️The SEC is back in the spotlight!⚡️

- Attorney John Deaton says SEC overreach has cost retail investors $15 billion.
- The SEC has changed its position: cryptocurrencies are no longer considered securities.
- The SEC has imposed $4.7 billion in fines in 2024, up 3,000% from 2023.
- eToro has been forced to stop trading crypto assets in the US and pay a $1.5 million fine.

🔍 Stay tuned!

Crypto millionaire James Fickel has lost more than $43 million since January 10, as his debt on decentralized platform Aave has grown to $132 million.

- Fickel, an early Ethereum investor, bet on the price of ETH rising against BTC, but his strategy has backfired.
- Since the beginning of 2024, the price of ETH has fallen more than 24% against BTC.
- Ether ETFs continue to lose money, with over $2.7 billion in outflows.

📉

Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, is moving its global headquarters to New York City, on one of the top floors of the World Trade Center, a move that CEO Jeremy Allaire says symbolizes American economic leadership. The move is scheduled for early 2025, following an IPO in January 2024. Despite the growth of the crypto industry, regulatory uncertainty and the upcoming elections could impact the market. 📉

Hong Kong risks falling behind in crypto regulation 🚨

- First Digital Trust calls on Hong Kong to speed up regulation of digital assets, otherwise the city may fall behind the rapid development of the industry.
- Hong Kong has only two licensed platforms for trading virtual assets: Hash Blockchain and OSL Digital Securities.
- Since June 1, working without a license has become a criminal offense.
- Hong Kong is not yet ready to regulate stablecoins pegged to the US dollar.
- Banks are in no hurry to offer crypto asset storage services due to high risks.

New York Congressman Ritchie Torres is calling on U.S. regulators to regulate election betting contracts, not ban them. In a letter to the CFTC chairman, he said cracking down on such contracts could cause harm by delaying important regulations. Torres is offering to work together to protect consumers and strengthen election integrity. 🏛️

Read the full letter and other experts' opinions on Politico.